Main Navigation

Main Content

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Tech researchers assess watershed management

By Liz Crumbley

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 22 - February 26, 1998

More than 60 percent of U.S. land has been altered by urban development and
agricultural use, recent studies estimate, and urban expansion claims an
additional 420,000 acres of land each year. All land use affects the
environment in some way, and unmanaged development can cause unforeseen
environmental damage.
In an attempt to develop a comprehensive environmental-management model for
watersheds, Civil Engineering (CE) Associate Professor Panos Diplas is leading
a team of 13 Virginia Tech researchers in a unique interdisciplinary assessment
of the hydrologic, ecological and economic effects of urban development.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the
National Science Foundation, is sponsoring the three-year project with $850,000
in funding. The Tech team, consisting of faculty members from CE, agriculture
and applied economics (AAEc), biological systems engineering (BSE), biology,
fisheries and wildlife sciences, and the Virginia Water Resources Research
Center (VWRRC), was one of four selected out of about 130 nation wide that
submitted proposals.
The project study site is the Upper Roanoke River Watershed, which has a
drainage area of 512 square miles and includes both rural headwater areas and
concentrated urban areas along the river's main stem. Located near the city of
Roanoke, the watershed is experiencing significant residential and commercial
development.
"A watershed is a self-contained environmental unit," said Diplas, who for
several years has conducted research on environmental hydraulics,
river-flooding mitigation, wetlands and other related issues. "That makes it a
good area in which to learn how to manage the effects of urban development."
Diplas and CE colleagues David Kibler, Richard Greene and Vinod Lohani, along
with BSE faculty members Saied Mostaghimi and Ram Gupta, will develop a
hydrologic and hydraulic model for assessing the effects of different forms of
urbanization on the quality and quantity of both surface water and
groundwater.
The engineers will develop a model that can assess the environmental results
of various types of land-use activities. For example, Diplas said, replacing
forested land with a subdivision reduces an area's vegetative cover, which can
increase flooding and levels of sediments, chemicals and other stream
pollutants.
Researchers studying the watershed's ecological components--biologists Fred
Benfield and Prakash Nagarkatti and fisheries scientist Donald Orth--will
develop procedures for predicting the responses of fish and macro-invertebrates
to urbanization.
"Fish and smaller forms of stream organisms are sensitive to changes in
factors such as streamflow and water quality," Diplas said. "They are excellent
biological indicators of the effects of urban development. If their environment
is deteriorating, eventually the effects will be felt by humans."
William Cox of CE, along with Leonard Shabman, Darrell Bosch and Kurt
Stephenson of AAEc, will examine the relationship between public policy and
development patterns and will estimate the effects of various forms of urban
development on the values of agricultural, forest, residential and commercial
land. They also will make assessments of tax receipts and fiscal costs incurred
by local governments as the result of urbanization.
Understanding the balance between the environmental and financial issues of
urban development is crucial to local officials and planners in making
decisions, Diplas said. For example, deciding whether a subdivision should be
zoned for one-half-acre or one-quarter-acre lots might require consideration of
the effects on both streams and the community tax base.
The VWRRC and a committee of project researchers will oversee the integration
of the hydrologic, ecological and economic models into a comprehensive model of
all watershed elements. The Fifth Planning District Commission will help the
Tech researchers form a panel of Roanoke-area stakeholders--local officials,
state agency personnel, and environmental groups--to help ensure that the
project reflects the interests and needs of watershed residents.
"The deterioration of the Chesapeake Bay is a classic example of unmanaged
urban and agricultural development," Diplas said. "The goal of our project is
to help local governments learn how to allow for urban development while
sustaining good environmental quality."